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Tissue migration by parasitic helminths - an immunoevasive strategy?
Grace Mulcahy1, Sandra O'Neill, June Fanning
1Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. grace.mulcahy@ucd.ie
Trends in Parasitology
|June 1, 2005
Summary
Parasitic helminths migrate through host tissues, facing energy costs and attrition risks. This migration may offer a survival advantage by helping them evade host immune defenses at mucosal surfaces.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Immunology
- Host-Pathogen Interactions
Background:
- Parasitic helminths undergo tissue migration, a process associated with significant costs.
- Despite these costs, migration is thought to provide a survival advantage for parasites.
- The precise benefits of migratory phases in parasitic helminths remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential survival advantages conferred by tissue migration in parasitic helminths.
- To explore the hypothesis that migration facilitates evasion of host immune responses.
Main Methods:
- This study conceptually analyzes the costs and benefits of helminth migration.
- It reviews existing literature on helminth physiology and host-parasite immunology.
Main Results:
- Tissue migration presents substantial energetic and attrition costs for parasitic helminths.
- Migration may allow parasites to bypass or reduce exposure to host immune defenses present at mucosal surfaces.
- Avoiding these immune mechanisms could be a key survival advantage.
Conclusions:
- The migratory phase in parasitic helminths, while costly, likely provides a critical survival benefit.
- Evasion of host mucosal immunity is a probable mechanism underlying this advantage.
- Understanding this trade-off is crucial for developing effective anti-parasitic strategies.